FILE- This May 16, 2015, file photo shows oil drillings offshore of a service pier in the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of Southern California near Carpinteria. Opposition to the Trump administration’s plan to expand offshore drilling mounted Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. The plan could open up federal waters off the California coast for the first time in more than three decades. The Channel is one of those areas that could open up. (AP Photo/John Antczak, File)

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Seventeen city and county leaders plan to work together and voice opposition to offshore drilling in Hampton Roads.

The leaders of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission will meet in Chesapeake Thursday afternoon to discuss ways to push back on oil and gas exploration off Virginia’s coast.

It comes after the Trump Administration announced a plan to lift the ban on drilling in the water off several states, including Virginia and North Carolina. For decades, drilling in this area has been blocked.

The Trump Administration’s five-year plan could open new areas of oil and gas exploration on the East Coast.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has scheduled a public hearing to talk about the issue. It will be Wednesday, Feb. 21 at Four Points by Sheraton, Richmond Airport, 4700 S. Laburnum Ave. in Richmond. It goes from for 3-7 p.m.